This invention relates to table games such as roulette, traditionally played in casinos and similar gaming establishments.
Games of chance have been part of many societies for centuries and are ever present today. Casinos exist to provide gambling entertainment to the community in the form of many different games.
These games can generally be divided into two categories. The first is automatic games, such as poker machines, in which a player bets on various outcomes being generated. These outcomes are generated automatically, using sophisticated random (all pseudo random) number generators. The player wins or loses depending upon the outcome of a particular game.
The second category of games is know as a table game, in which a human operator, known as a dealer or a croupier, determines the outcome of the game and pays betting players accordingly. Such table games include roulette and blackjack. In the case of blackjack, players are dealt a number of cards by a dealer, who also deals him or herself some cards. The cards themselves determine the outcome of a particular game, directed by the dealer, and influenced by individual players"" choices of various parts of the game.
Simplistically, in roulette, players bet on where they think a ball, spun within a wheel divided into thirty seven regions marked from 0-36, will land. After bets are placed, the wheel is spun and the ball is dropped onto the spinning wheel and is allowed to move freely until coming to rest in one of the thirty seven regions of the wheel. Those players who bet on the correct number win, while those who did not, lose.
In both scenarios of the table games described above, all actions, including players betting, game outcome determination, calculation of winners and losers and subsequent settlement, are conducted manually.
This presents a number of problems. Firstly, mistakes can be made by the player in placing a bet, resulting in an invalid bet, while mistakes may be made by the croupier in determining winners and more particularly, in calculating and paying out wins. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for some players to attempt to cheat by surreptitiously increasing or decreasing a bet while the croupier is not looking once the outcome of a game is known.
Another problem lies with the comfort and confidence of the players. One of the attractions of automatic gaming machines is that the player does not need to deal with other people, which is an advantage if the player is not entirely familiar with or confident about the rules of the game and may be intimidated by other people observing this.
Another disadvantage of traditional gaming tables is that generally, only six players can play at a table at any one time. This is an inefficient use of space. Furthermore, their number within a given establishment is limited by legislation. Due to the limited number of tables, it is often difficult for players to find a place available at a table.
Further, due to the requirement of the croupier having to maintain full control including supervising players, taking bets, determining the outcome of the game, calculating and paying winnings, collecting losses and all the while trying to be aware of any instances of cheating, the number of players per table must be limited so as not to overtax the croupier. Accordingly, the overall profit of the casino derived from the game is limited because the ratio between the croupier""s salary and the income generated from the players is not high.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a table game which improves security and increases profit to the casino
In broad terms the present invention provides a casino gaming table, in which the game itself is conducted using traditional, manual systems, and the players place bets and wins or losses are calculated using electronic means.
The core advantage of such an arrangement is that the croupier need only physically conduct the game elementsxe2x80x94for example, spinning a roulette wheel. The croupier need not watch for irregularities or calculate wins and losses. As a result, play can proceed more rapidly, and more players can be accommodated simultaneously.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a gaming table system including;
a gaming surface, at least one manual random game outcome determinator, game outcome data capturing means and one or more electronic player terminals to allow one or more players to place bets electronically.
According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for operating a casino gaming table, said table including player terminals for players to electronically place bets on the outcome of a game, said method including the steps of:
electronically receiving a betting amount from a player;
manually determining a game outcome;
calculating win/loss data in accordance with the outcome of the game; and
electronically updating player terminals in accordance with said win/loss data.
Preferably, the system will include processing means for calculating win/loss data in accordance with the outcome of the game.
Preferably, the system also includes updating means for updating customer credit values in accordance with the win/loss data.
The system may also provide a countdown to inform the players of the time remaining before all bets must be placed.